Four Badass Soups To Try This Spring

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So you don’t think you have the time, energy, or right equipment to pull a home cooked meal together? It doesn’t have to be complicated. A home cooked meal can be just as rewarding as an elaborate one from a restaurant, and simple to make too. Cooking meals at home is one of the best things you can do for your health. Evidence shows that people who cook at home eat healthier because the quality of food is often much better and you’re less likely to eat junk foods if you’re doing the cooking.

If the wonderful and comforting ritual of cooking at home has slipped out of your life, soup is the way back in and spring is the time to do it. Visually beautiful and full of sweet produce, spring is a great season for food, particularly soups. Here are four soups to try from this year’s spring bounty. What makes them badass? They’re delicious, easy to make, beautiful, and vegan!

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, shallots, leek, and onion and sauté for 5 to 10 minutes, until the leek is soft. Add asparagus with a generous pinch of salt and sauté another 5 minutes.

Add the broth and bay leaf, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until asparagus has softened, about 30 minutes. Add the Cashew Cream and 1 teaspoon of salt and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaf.

Working in batches, pour the soup into a blender and blend on high. Return to a cleaned pot or a large bowl. Add the spinach to the last batch and continue blending until smooth. Pour last batch into bowl or soup pot to incorporate the spinach batch. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

For garnish, in a small skillet, sauté leeks until slightly brown, about 5-7 minutes. Set aside. In the same pan, sauté asparagus pieces until softened, add peas. Cook for about a minute, season with salty and pepper. Remove from heat.

To serve, ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with frizzled leeks, asparagus stems, and/or peas. Add lemon zest, if you like. Another option, add a dollop of cashew cream to serve. Also, we like to eat the soup with farro or brown rice.

2 | Creamy green pea soup with mint.

Light and creamy, this springtime favorite is loaded with vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, and a unique assortment of health-protective phytonutrients—one of which has been associated with protection from stomach cancer.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add leek, shallot, and garlic. Sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Add peas and cook until tender, about 3-5 minutes if using frozen peas, longer if using fresh. Remove from heat. Add mint and ½ teaspoon salt.

Purée the soup in a high-speed blender until very smooth. Return to cleaned pot. Stir in cream and adjust salt and add pepper. Alternatively, you can add the cream later, as a dollop on top of your bowl of soup, just before serving. Or, you can choose to omit it altogether.

For the frizzled leeks, heat oil in a pan, add leeks, and sauté until slightly browning. Season with a little salt. Set aside.

To serve, ladle soup in bowls, drizzle with olive oil and a dollop of cream, if using. Garnish with mint leaves and frizzled leeks. Sprinkle with black pepper.

3 | Creamy white asparagus soup.

Before cooking white asparagus spears, be sure to peel the bottom two-thirds of each spear because white asparagus tends to have a thick and bitter skin. Boiling in salted water is the best technique for cooking white asparagus, but it’s also good roasted, grilled or in a deliciously creamy soup like this one.

Trim and discard about ½-inch of the rough ends of the white asparagus. Cut off the asparagus tips and set aside. Lay the stems (spears) on a work surface as the spears can easily snap while peeling them. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the skin off the spears.

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallots and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add potatoes and ½ teaspoon salt and cook for another 2 minutes. Add asparagus (stems only, tips will be added later) and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Allow the soup to simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes. Add the asparagus tips and simmer another 5 minutes. Carefully ladle the soup into a high-speed blender, like a Vita Mix, blend until smooth. Return soup to pot, add cashew cream and stir. Taste and adjust salt.

In a small skillet, lightly sauté asparagus tips in olive oil for a few minutes. Remove from heat.

To serve, ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with asparagus tips and parsley. Sprinkle with white pepper. Optional: drizzle with olive oil or mix olive oil with a bit of cayenne pepper and drizzle on top of soup.

4 | Hearty spring vegetable soup.

This totally badass soup is oil free. I used the culinary technique, dry-sauté. Instead of using oil, I used vegetable stock to sauté my aromatics (leeks and garlic) and vegetables. Using a dry-sauté I skipped the oil and eliminated the added fat.

Heat a large pot over medium heat. When hot, add leeks and stir until slightly browned and almost translucent. Add garlic and stir for about 5-10 seconds. Add a little water or stock and cook the onions until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add carrots and celery. Stir, consistently, not allowing the vegetables to have time to stick to the bottom of the pot. If they begin to stick, and a little water or stock to continue. After about 5 minutes, add the potatoes. Stir continuously, then add 4 cups of stock. Bring to a boil, then add the asparagus stems, peas, and beans. Simmer for 3-4 minutes, then add spinach, basil, and mint. Add the asparagus tips. Season with salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. Garnish with edible flowers, small mint and/or basil leaves, and/or a twist of freshly ground pepper

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Martine is a global public health professional, executive coach, and citizen of the world. Her passion for health and wellness can be seen in her commitment to the art of living and eating well. As a leader and educator Martine draws on the latest in neuroscience, psychology, and mindfulness to empower others to reach their full potential to live a healthy, happy and balanced life. As a culinary instructor and food and healthy lifestyle blogger, Martine inspires others to integrate whole and plant based foods into their busy lives. Her sensitivity to the world’s rich and diverse cuisines makes her cooking a kaleidoscopic culinary exploration of global cooking. Martine has a Masters degree in public health and culinary certifications and training in plant-based nutrition and French cuisine. As a parent who loves to cook with her son, Martine is a strong believer that cooking with children helps them to learn valuable life skills for their future. When not working, Martine can be found seeing the world through the eyes and ears of her multilingual "petit" world citizen. Her vision, passion and commitment to empowering others to live a healthy and balanced lifestyle are what make her badass.